Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT Manila EN BANC G.R. No. 180643 September 4, 2008

competing interests in the case at bar are the claim of executive privilege by the President, on the one hand, and the respondent Senate Committees’ assertion of their power to conduct legislative inquiries, on the other. The particular facts and circumstances of the present case, stripped of the politically and emotionally charged rhetoric from both sides and viewed in the light of settled constitutional and legal doctrines, plainly lead to the conclusion that the claim of executive privilege must be upheld. Assailed in this motion for reconsideration is our Decision dated March 25, 2008 (the "Decision"), granting the petition for certiorari filed by petitioner Romulo L. Neri against the respondent Senate Committees on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations, 1 Trade and Commerce,2 and National Defense and Security (collectively the "respondent Committees"). 3 A brief review of the facts is imperative.

ROMULO L. NERI, petitioner, vs. SENATE COMMITTEE ON ACCOUNTABILITY OF PUBLIC OFFICERS AND INVESTIGATIONS, SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND COMMERCE, AND SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL DEFENSE AND SECURITY, respondents. RESOLUTION LEONARDO-DE CASTRO, J.: Executive privilege is not a personal privilege, but one that adheres to the Office of the President. It exists to protect public interest, not to benefit a particular public official. Its purpose, among others, is to assure that the nation will receive the benefit of candid, objective and untrammeled communication and exchange of information between the President and his/her advisers in the process of shaping or forming policies and arriving at decisions in the exercise of the functions of the Presidency under the Constitution. The confidentiality of the President’s conversations and correspondence is not unique.